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Showing 4851 - 4900Sexual Dysfunction in Female Cancer Survivors Is Prevalent
Although medical experts put the proportion of female survivors facing some form of sexual dysfunction following a cancer diagnosis and treatment at nearly 100%, very few women raise sexual health concerns with their oncologist. In a study of 261 patients with gynecologic or breast cancer published ...
Anticancer Effect of Diabetes Drug Metformin
Retrospective analyses have indicated that the antidiabetic agent metformin may be associated with a quite substantial reduction in risk of cancers. There is evidence that the anticancer effects of metformin are related to inhibition of the growth of certain cancers via activation of AMP kinase...
Expert Point of View: Fritz H. Schröder, MD
I am happy to accept the invitation by The ASCO Post to comment on the recent, long-awaited publication of the PIVOT study (Wilt et al: N Engl J Med 367:203-213, 2012) and the accompanying editorial by Thompson and Tangen (N Engl J Med 367:270-271, 2012). The editorial both points out weaknesses of ...
No Survival Benefit of Radical Prostatectomy vs Observation for Localized Prostate Cancer Detected by PSA Testing
The relative benefits of surgery or observation in men with prostate cancer detected by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing have not been defined. Randomized trials comparing radical prostatectomy with observation were conducted before widespread use of PSA testing and an observational study...
Contagious Cancer and an Unexplained Phenomenon Might Inspire Future Therapies
A deadly contagious cancer known as devil facial tumor disease is pushing the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilius harrisii), to the brink of extinction. The loss of an interesting creature aside, the plight of the Tasmanian devil raises provocative questions...
Biomarker-driven Adaptive Trial Design Proving Informative in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Biomarker-driven adaptive trial design is an accelerated strategy for targeted drug development that is proving informative in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology and Associate Director of Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center,...
Management of a Patient with Systemic Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma following Failure of One or More Combination Regimens
Case Summary presented by Steven M. Horwitz, MD, Assistant Attending, Lymphoma Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. This is a case of a 49-year-old woman who developed an enlarged right axillary lymph node. The woman had noticed some discomfort under her right arm, which she...
Management of a Patient with Relapsed and Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma
Case Summary presented by Andreas Engert, MD, Chairman, German Hodgkin Study Group, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany This is a case report of a 23-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2009. She received two cycles of ABVD (doxorubicin,...
Management of a Patient with Hodgkin Lymphoma following Failure of Autologous Stem Cell Transplant
Case Summaries presented by Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Director, Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, British Columbia Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada When considering the management of a patient whose Hodgkin lymphoma has relapsed despite high dose...
Novel Drugs Enhance—but Complicate—Prostate Cancer Treatment
Three emerging agents for castration-resistant prostate cancer are extending lives and defining their roles in the treatment scenario, according to William Oh, MD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, who commented on new data at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting. “We are talking about...
SIDEBAR: Is Microsatellite Instability Status also Predictive in Stage II Disease?
“Microsatellite instability status is a validated prognostic marker in stage II colorectal cancer. It is the strongest prognostic marker we have in that group,” Dr. Overman commented. “The fact is that we should be getting this [test] consistently to help us make this discussion [of prognosis]...
Evidence Is Changing Colorectal Cancer Treatment Landscape
Key colorectal cancer studies presented at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting are changing the treatment landscape in this disease, according to Michael Overman, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who reviewed the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. The mix included...
ABVD and BEACOPP Yield Equivalent Survival in Hodgkin Lymphoma
In the EORTC 20012 randomized phase III trial comparing eight cycles of ABVD vs eight cycles of BEACOPP, Hodgkin lymphoma patients achieved equivalent overall survival with either regimen, but BEACOPP was more toxic.1 “Our approach, and that of most U.S. centers, is to use ABVD,” Michael E....
Which Rituximab-based Regimen Works Best in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma?
The treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients has been recently informed by several important studies, which were discussed at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting by Michael E. Williams, MD, of the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville. Bendamustine Outperforms R-CHOP in NHL...
SIDEBAR: A Tough Call: The T1a HER2-positive Tumor
The optimal adjuvant management of T1a HER2-positive breast cancers is uncertain and requires an individualized approach, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center....
SIDEBAR: Does Lapatinib Prevent CNS Metastases in HER2-positive Breast Cancer?
Lapatinib has shown some efficacy against existing brain metastases in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer but not in preventing them in the first place, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller...
New Therapies Capitalize on Lung Cancer’s Molecular Vulnerabilities
Research reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting attests to the tremendous molecular diversity of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the power of appropriately selected treatment, according to Leora Horn, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who presented data on molecular findings...
Best of ASCO® Meetings Offer Data, Commentary, and Interaction with the Experts
Three Best of ASCO meetings were held over the summer in Chicago, Boston, and San Diego. The faculty distilled the most interesting and immediately applicable data from the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting, provided personal perspectives, and interacted with attendees for an educational experience that was ...
2012 Is ‘Banner Year’ for Research on Symptom Management
The year 2012 was “a banner year for symptom management,” according to Debra L. Barton, RN, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, who presented data on patient and survivor care at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. “I have been doing symptom management for about 20 years, and it seems...
Link Found between Aspirin and Reduced Risk of Death Due to Prostate Cancer
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. Over the past few weeks, Stanley L....
American Psychosocial Oncology Society Provides Helpline for Counseling Services
The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) offers a toll-free national Helpline as a resource to help people with cancer and their caregivers find counseling services in their own communities. Patients with cancer, caregivers, and advocacy organizations may obtain referrals for local...
Tweeting at ASCO Annual Meetings Can Enhance the Experience
Tweeting at concerts or plays may earn you scornful looks or even stern warnings from ushers, but tweeting at the ASCO Annual Meeting may enhance the meeting experience for you and others. In a study comparing trends in Twitter use by physicians during the 2010 and 2011 ASCO Annual Meetings, some...
New Studies Explore Exposure to Cancer-causing Agents
Key studies on cancer epidemiology and prevention delivered both reassuring and not-so-reassuring findings on exposure to agents believed to be cancer-promoting. Kala Visvanathan, MD, MHS, of The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Baltimore,...
The Language of Cancer
For more than a year, Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, has been blogging at ASCO Connection (connection.asco.org) about such diverse topics as cancer survivorship, the redesign of clinical studies based on patients’ molecular characteristics, and the power of laughter. Last May, Dr. Dizon tackled the impact ...
Pivotal Trials in Head and Neck Cancers Yield Mixed Results
The latest research in head and neck cancer reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting presents a mixed picture, according to George R. Blumenschein, Jr, MD, Associate Professor at The Unviersity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, who presented the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
Pediatric Pathologist Sidney Farber, MD: The ‘Father of Modern Chemotherapy’ and Cofounder of the Jimmy Fund
In June 3, 1948, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study by Sidney Farber, MD, showing that a synthetic compound, 4-aminopteroylglutamic acid (aminopterin), could induce remissions in seriously ill children with acute leukemia.1 Although the study was small—just 16 children—10 showed...
Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Cancer
Cancer therapy, including radiation and chemotherapy, can be harmful to multiple organ systems. The central nervous system (CNS) has generally been considered less vulnerable to the toxic effects of cancer therapy. However, the use of more aggressive treatment modalities combined with prolonged...
Progress, Slow but Sure, Seen for Current Lung Cancer Therapies
This year, we have some abstracts that help move things forward in lung cancer, maybe at a little bit slower pace than in previous years. But there are important points that we can learn from some of these abstracts,” commented Karen L. Reckamp, MD, of the City of Hope, who presented findings on...
21-gene Recurrence Score Predicts Outcomes of Node-positive, ER-positive Patients after Adjuvant Chemoendocrine Therapy
The 21-gene recurrence score (obtained with Oncotype DX) can help identify patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, node-positive breast cancer who do not respond well to adjuvant chemoendocrine therapy, according to a retrospective analysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel...
Anthracycline Use Steadily Declining in Early Breast Cancer Population
Anthracycline use in early-stage breast cancer has been steadily declining, especially for patients with stage I/II or HER2-positive disease, according to an analysis of patients treated at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.1 Treatment Alternatives Lead author...
Noncolorectal GI Cancer Evidence Incorporated into Guidelines
The noncolorectal gastrointestinal cancer studies selected for this year’s Best of ASCO meetings include some whose results are being folded into practice guidelines or are good candidates for incorporation, according to Alexandria T. Phan, MD, Associate Professor at The University of Texas MD...
Developments in Hematologic Cancers Include New Considerations in Treating Challenging Leukemias and Multiple Myelomas
Speakers at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 7th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies reviewed the current standard of care for various hematologic cancers and explored new concepts in treatment. Below are highlights from presentations on chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML),...
Breast Cancer Symposium Features Surgical Data, Updated Results from BOLERO-2, and Other Important News
The annual Breast Cancer Symposium, held September 13 to 15 in San Francisco, is jointly sponsored by ASCO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Breast Disease, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the National Consortium of Breast Cancers, and the Society of...
Pain Remains Prevalent among Oncology Outpatients, with Odds of Undertreatment Twice as High among Minority Patients
In 1994, a landmark study of pain among oncology outpatients prompted a host of pain management initiatives.1 More than 18 years later, a recent study among more than 2,000 cancer outpatients has found that “one-third of the patients who had pain or used analgesics received inadequate treatment for ...
SIDEBAR: All Eyes on Trials of IV vs IP Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer
The positive findings from the NOVEL trial add to the debate about how intravenous (IV) chemotherapy stacks up against intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy when treating ovarian cancer and the role of dose-dense approaches in general, according to Jonathan S. Berek, MD, of the Stanford Women’s Cancer...
SIDEBAR: Future of PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer Hangs in Balance
"It’s become clear that the PARP inhibitors in general … are active in this disease, and we are just trying to find out the level of activity and … get to the point hopefully where at least one of these agents will be approved for use” in ovarian and related cancers, commented Jonathan S. Berek,...
Major Strides Seen in Treatment of Gynecologic Cancers
Research reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting shows major strides in treating ovarian and cervical cancers, suggesting the potential of new agents and adding evidence in areas where optimal management is unclear, according to Jonathan S. Berek, MD, of the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center,...
SIDEBAR: European Database
In a separate presentation at the 2012 ESMO Congress, Fiona Blackhall, MD, Manchester University and Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK, reported findings from the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP) Lungscape Project.1 This is the first large European dataset to evaluate ...
Will mTOR Inhibitors Change the Treatment of Endocrine-sensitive HER2-negative Breast Cancer?
For the treatment of endocrine-sensitive metastatic breast cancer, the combination of an mTOR inhibitor and an endocrine agent represents a promising new option. At the 2012 Breast Cancer Symposium, the 18-month update of BOLERO-2, which tested therapy with everolimus (Afinitor) plus exemestane,...
Challenges Persist in Treatment of Elderly Patients with CLL, but Novel Agents Hold Promise for Future Strategies
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is mainly a disease of the elderly, and the lack of a standard regimen for elderly patients has been a major challenge. The myelosuppressive regimens used to treat younger patients are not well tolerated by the elderly. However, some newer approaches currently...
Ignoring Level 1 Evidence in Invasive Bladder Cancer: Is Ignorance Bliss?
I’ve been part of the uro-oncology community for more than 30 years and have been proud to be involved in a good number of well-powered, enthusiastically subscribed randomized clinical trials. These have dated back to a time before randomization was necessarily the fashion. I have had the pleasure...
Letter to the Editor: Origins of PSA Testing: The Conversation Continues
As Drs. James Mohler and Donald Trump noted in their September 15 letter to The ASCO Post (“More Thoughts on PSA,” 3[14]:2, 2012), Richard Ablin, PhD, discovered a “prostate-specific antigen” of unknown properties, but his PSA is not the antigen in the PSA test we know today. Since Dr. Ablin has...
Mutational Activation of PI3K-AKT Pathway and Change in HER2 Expression in Trastuzumab-resistant Breast Cancer
Insensitivity of HER2-amplified breast cancer to trastuzumab (Herceptin) has been associated with both changes in HER2 expression and activation of the PI3K-AKT pathway in laboratory studies. Chandarlapaty and colleagues from Memorial- Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Fox Chase Cancer...
Strong Association Increasingly Recognized Between Obesity and Cancer Incidence/Poor Prognosis
The rise in obesity in the United States coincides with greater recognition of the role of obesity in cancer and other diseases.1 While decades of research have indicated a strong association between obesity and cancer, “several forces have made that association increasingly recognized,” according...
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Chosen to Serve in New ASCO Leadership Position, Chief Medical Officer
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Chief of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine and Deputy Director of the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been named to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of ASCO. A former ASCO President and Fellow of the American...
The Nuts and Bolts of Getting into an Oncology Fellowship
Oncology continues to be one of the most sought-after specialties. Because of a shortage of oncologists and the accelerating pace of developments in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, oncology has become an increasingly competitive field. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education...
Dong Quai
Scientific Name: Angelica sinensis Common Names: Chinese angelica, dang gui, tang kuei, tan kue Overview Dong quai is a perennial herb indigenous to China, Japan, and Korea. Its root has been used for centuries as a spice, tonic, and medicine. Dong quai is mentioned in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, the...
Ruxolitinib: Novel Drug for Myelofibrosis
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication In November 2011, ruxolitinib (Jakafi) was approved for...
Expert Point of View: Fausto Roila, MD
Thromboprophylaxis for patients with a central venous catheter is at present not recommended by the international oncologic associations. This is based on the results of four recent randomized controlled trials, three of them double-blind, in which there was no statistically significant difference...
Does Prophylaxis Prevent Catheter-related Thrombosis?
In ambulatory patients with cancer, the risk of catheter-related deep-vein thrombosis can be reduced by almost half with anticoagulation prophylaxis, according to a single-center French study presented at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna.1 Catheters implanted ...
